Siona (otherwise known as Bain Coca, Pioje, Pioche-Sioni, Ganteyabain, Ganteya, Ceona, Zeona, Koka, Kanú) is a
Tucanoan language of
Colombia and
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
. The language is essentially the same as
Secoya, but speakers are ethnically distinct.
As of 2013, Siona is spoken by about 550 people.
Teteté dialect (Eteteguaje) is extinct.
[Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices]
Phonology
Vowels
There are 6 oral vowels and six nasal vowels. Only nasal vowels occur next to a nasal consonant or .
Consonants
There are two series of obstruent consonant. Both often produce a noticeable delay before the onset of the following vowel: the 'fortis' series (written ''p t č k kw s h hw'') tends to be
aspirated, with a noisy transition to the vowel, while the 'lenis' series (written ''b d g gw ’ z''), optionally voiced, is
glottalized
Glottalization is the complete or partial closure of the glottis during the articulation of another sound. Glottalization of vowels and other sonorants is most often realized as creaky voice (partial closure). Glottalization of obstruent consona ...
, with a silent transition to the vowel, which in turn tends to be
laryngealized
In linguistics, creaky voice (sometimes called laryngealisation, pulse phonation, vocal fry, or glottal fry) refers to a low, scratchy sound that occupies the vocal range below the common vocal register. It is a special kind of phonation in which ...
. The
glottal stop is faint, and noticeable primarily in the laryngealizing effect it has on adjacent vowels.
is realized as between vowels. is realized as next to nasal vowels.
Stress
Stress is obligatory on all verb stems, root words, and some suffixes. It disappears when the syllable is not the nucleus of a
phonological word
The phonological word or prosodic word (also called pword, PrWd; symbolised as ω) is a constituent in the phonological hierarchy higher than the syllable and the foot but lower than intonational phrase and the phonological phrase. It is larg ...
. Some monosyllabic morphemes have both stressed and unstressed forms. Although the position of stress within a word is not contrastive, vocalic and consonantal allophony depends on whether a syllable is stressed. Initial stressed vowels followed by unstressed vowels are long and have a falling tone.
References
External links
* Wheeler, Alva. 1970.
Grammar of the Siona language, Colombia, South America.' Ph.D. thesis. University of California. 192 p.
*
Siona(
Intercontinental Dictionary Series)
{{Languages of Ecuador
Tucanoan languages
Indigenous languages of Western Amazonia
Languages of Colombia
Languages of Ecuador